Here are a few tidbits about my branch of the family and their moves
west away from Ohio to Washington and Alaska. My great grandmother
was Emma Rebecca Handley. She was one of 12 children of James H
Handley (1826-1913) and his wife Jane Slagle (1831-1891). James was
the eldest son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Barger) Handley. James and
Jane lived in Gallia, Lawrence, and Jackson Co in Ohio ending up in
Wellston in the late 1890s, early 1900s. James was a coal miner.

Their children were:

1. Henry Thomas (1853-1868) died young in Decatur, Lawrence Co, OH

2. Ann Eliza (1855-1946) married John W Campbell and had 12 children.
As far as I know they stayed in Jackson Co, OH until John's death in
1915. She was living in Cambridge, Guernsey Co, OH at the time of her
death.

3. Mary E (b 1857) don't know what happened to her except that she
married Jesse Arnold

4. Louis (b 1859, died young I think)

5. Albert M (b 1863) m Flora J Oney. The had 11 children. He was a
teamster in 1900 and I think they stayed in Ohio.

6. Samuel B (1865-1942) m Jane M Wells. He went to Alaska in the Gold
Rush in the late 1890s, leaving his wife in Wellston, OH with their 3
children. He was still in Alaska in 1910, living in his own home on
Ester Creek near Fairbanks, AK working as a teamster. None of his
immediate family was living with him, although his nephew Homer was
living with him and another nephew, Oscar Kavaney lived nearby. By
1920, he had moved to Hazelwood in King Co, WA where he lived with his
wife and children until his death.

7. Emma Rebecca (1867-1954) m Michael Kavaney, whose family had
immigrated from Ireland ~1850. Michael was a coal miner. He died in
1907, probably of black lung disease in Wellston leaving his widow
and 4 children: Oscar Beasley, Henry (Harry) Thomas, Myrtle Helen (my
grandmother), and Curtis. Within a few years the family scattered - -
Oscar went to Alaska, working in Berry's gold mines until the 1920s
when he moved to the Bellingham area where he lived with his mother
and step father until his death). Harry worked in the Seattle area
for a while as a teamster, then as a farm hand living with his sister
and her husband in the CA central valley and then I lost track of him.
Neither he or Oscar married or had children. Curtis went to sea as a
cabin boy - - the ships captain changed his name to James Cavannaugh
stating that Curtis Cavaney was "no fit name for a sailor". After he
retired from the sea, he spent the last 20 years of his life in Port
Angeles, WA with his wife Anna. They had no children. Myrtle
accompanied her aunt to AK by stage, train, ship, & river boat when
she was 17. After spending at least a few months in AK, Yukon, and
then a longer time in No Vancouver Island (with Nora Handley), she
married Ralph Harris who had been partner in her uncle's teamster
business in the creeks near Fairbanks. They settled in Selma, CA on a
farm where she had her son, Don. After a few years, Ralph left her to
return to Alaska remaining there until his death in 1945. Ralph's
whole family came to Alaska during the gold rush living briefly in
Nome and then primarily in Fairbanks. One of his sisters (Roma)
married Clarence Berry's brother inheriting his part of one of Berry's
claims on Ester Creek.. Emma joined her sister Norah in North
Vancouver Island where she met Harmon Markham Marriott. After her
second marriage, she and Harmon moved to the small town of Lookout
(now called Alger) in Skagit Co south of Bellingham. Harmon bought a
lot of property some of which his brothers and their sons farmed. He
was primarily a logging operator, however. After Harmon's death ( he
was run over by a bulldozer carrying a load of logs) Emma remained in
Bellingham until her death in 1954. I met several relatives of
Harmon's when I visited Alger last summer and they weren't too fond of
Emma - - said she was a little too full of herself and her possessions.

8. Serena Jane (Rena, 1870-aft 1955) m Arch L. Moore. As far as I
know, they had no children and lived in Seattle.

9. Flora H Handley (b 1872, twin of Nora, died after 1930) , Albert
Buscher. from Winetka, IL. They were partners with Ralph Harris in a
freighting business on Ester Creek and ran a stage line from Ester
Creek to the rail line running from Fairbanks. He worked as gold
miner and teamster until they left Alaska for Washington where he and
his brother worked as laborers in the logging industry. After his
wife's death in Berkeley, Ca he returned to his family in IL. They
had no children. He was one of my favorite relatives when I was a kid.

10. Nora H Handley (1872-aft 1950) m George Morley from Maine. He
first joined the gold rush as a stampeder up the Chilkoot Pass and
down Lake Bennett by boat. I don't think that Norah accompanied him
to Alaska, but lived on North Vancouver Island. By 1910 he was
running a gold mine in Alaska (near Fairbanks in Ester Ciry) while his
wife remained in Seattle, WA. He lived next door to his sister-in-
law, Flora and Bert Busscher in Fairbanks. In the 1920s they lived
in Webster, King Co in WA (Maple Valley). He worked in the logging
industry along with the other Handley men in the area. In the 1930s
and 40s, he ran a cafe in San Francisco with his wife. They had no
children.

11. William C (b 1876) married and had a son Harry Welch. He
remained in Wellston, working as a merchant.